


Oh, Oh No

by Mr_Lonely



Category: Something Dark and Holy Series - Emily A. Duncan
Genre: Kacper has a crush, M/M, Mentions of alcohol, Serefin is a disaster, Swearing, Vomiting, Yearning, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24174496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Lonely/pseuds/Mr_Lonely
Summary: Kacper was the kind of person who noticed everything.Serefin, however, is not.
Relationships: Serefin Meleski/Kacper Neiborski
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	Oh, Oh No

**Author's Note:**

> Does this fit with canon? I don't know! We got so little content on these two! Is the lack of canon going to stop me? No! Am I going to make Serefin a happy drunk so he can be happy for once? Yes!

The first time Kacper saw Serefin, there was no holy choir or sudden revelation. His life did not turn on it's head, and everything he knew was wrong and up became down or revolutionary.

  
All that happened was this: his heart stuttered and he thought, _Oh, oh no_.

  
Ostyia caught him staring, just a lowly soldier staring openly at the prince, and glared. Kacper glared back. Just a peasant boy turned soldier as a duty to his country, what right did he have to stare so openly at the prince? But Kacper noticed things, he was good at that. But being noticed in return was not a pleasant experience.

  
It was slow, after that. The growth in his heart was patient, worming its way deeper into his chest as the days went on. So slow, in fact, that Kacper didn't pay attention to it until almost a month later, when the prince ran into him in the hallway.

  
Serefin was drunk out of his mind, as per usual. Kacper had yet to see him sober.

  
Serefin crashed into Kacper, giggling and mumbling to himself. Kacper looked around, but Ostyia was nowhere in sight. _Odd, she hardly left the prince’s side_.

  
“Your Highness-”

  
“Shhhh, shush. Isn't it so funny?” Serefin mumbled, righting himself and grabbing Kacper’s shoulders. “He’s sending me to the front!”

  
Then the prince of Travania threw up on Kacper’s tunic.

  
“Blood and bone, Serefin!” Ostyia hissed as she jogged down the hallway towards them. She hauled the prince upright and squinted her good eye at Kacper. “You might wanna change your shirt.”

  
She began to drag Serefin back to his room, and Kacper stared after them as long as he dared before making up his mind and going back to the barrack to change his reeking shirt.

\--------

  
It took more courage than he would admit to go back to Serefin’s room some twenty minutes later. The easy part was not being seen on his way there; the hard part was deciding if Ostyia’s glare was worth it. One eye, twice the hatred of a normal stare.

  
He opened the door slowly, surprised to not find it locked.

  
Then he cringed at the sounds of vomiting coming from farther in the room. And Ostyia’s voice.

  
“Honestly, was this really a good idea? Trust me, the court doesn't need anything else to hold over you. You're lucky it was some random--”

  
Kacper cleared his throat and they both looked up. He closed the door quietly behind himself. Serefin was pale and was breathing shallowly, sitting against his bed frame with a chamber pot in his lap. Ostyia had been holding his hair back, but she dropped it and stalked up to Kacper.

  
“Who the hell do you think you are--”

  
“Ostyia, stop shouting,” Serefin mumbled, squinting at Kacper. He met those glassy, blue eyes head on and absolutely did not notice his heart throw itself against his ribs.

  
Love was a concept. That's all it had been for him. Something for other people, this inexplicable thing more intangible than literal magic. It never bothered Kacper, there were other things taking up his time, better things than chasing something that didn't exist.

  
Now though, he walked toward Serefin as if he wasn't in control of his body. “Are you alright, Your Highness?”

  
Serefin blinked sluggishly. “If you're here to kill me, you have to ask Ostyia first. I believe she was first in the long, long line of people who would like to.”

Ostyia snorted, relaxing slightly but not taking her eyes off Kacper. “If you don't kill yourself drinking first.”

  
“I have such caring friends… friend. I only have one friend. Ha.”

  
Kacper knelt down to Serefin’s level. “Friends,” he murmured.

  
Serefin’s lips parted, surprised, before he coughed and vomited into the chamber pot.

  
Kacper did his best to pull Serefin’s hair ( _soft, so soft and pretty_ ) out of his face. He heard Ostyia draw her blade, and didn't flinch when it was put against the back of his neck. Kacper was not a man motivated by anger, but Ostyia needed to back the fuck off before he did something that would throw him in the dungeons or land him with a noose.

  
Serefin stayed still, blinking slowly and humming.

  
“What was your name?” He slurred.

  
“Kacper.”

  
Serefin hummed again, then closed his eyes ( _scarred and so blue_ ) and tipped his head back against the bed post.

  
“Ostyia, could you get me a glass of water?”

  
Ostyia looked like she’d rather gouge out her good eye than move, but after a tense moment she sheathed her short sword and stormed across the room.

  
“Kacper…”

  
Kacper looked away from Ostyia and back at Serefin. “Yes, Your Highness?”

  
Serefin waved a hand. “If you call me that again you'll make me sad. Well, more than I already am. Just Serefin.”

  
“Serefin.”

  
The prince smiled, shifting the chamber pot off his lap to the ground next to him. “I am incredibly drunk but it's different this time! For some reason. But… but,” he blinked, squinting again. Kacper actually didn't know how good Serefin’s eyesight was after the attack when he was a child.

The glower that had the whole castle wary was just Serefin trying to see. Kacper tried not to find it endearing. He failed.

  
“I have something very important to tell you, Kacper.” Serefin shifted and reached his hand up to eye level.

Then he tapped Kacper on the nose. “Boop!”

  
Then Serefin let out a truly awful snort of laughter and Kacper's heart tumbled out of his chest, right into Serefin's hands.

  
\---------

  
“So, you've got it bad.”

  
Kacper did not look up as Ostyia approached, eyes firmly on the sword he was sharpening. The four other soldiers he was with, however, did take notice of the approaching blood mage.

  
After Serefin finally stopped throwing up and passed out, Kacper and Ostyia reached a silent truce to haul the prince into bed. Then, Kacper left.

  
He’d be lying if he said he hadn't been thinking over every single detail of the night since. That was two days ago; he hasn't seen Serefin since.

  
Ostyia though, Kacper has seen too much of her.

  
Ostyia stood right in front of Kacper, hand on her spellbook. “Trying to get with a prince to get promoted, peasant boy?”

  
Kacper raised his head to the snickers from the other soldiers. His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.

  
“Watch it,” he snapped.

  
Ostyia laughed. “What, do you have a little crush?”

  
The other soldiers were not even pretending to not be eavesdropping. With every laugh or snort, Kacper’s anger got worse.

  
Kacper stood, almost nose to nose with her.“I said watch it.”

  
“Or what?” Ostyia returned, icy cold.

  
Kacper threw the first punch, but Ostyia’s landed first. They both fought dirty, no weapons, no magic, just fists. The soldiers’ whooping became just background noise that Kacper hardly heard over his pounding heart beat.

_How dare someone else notice what he couldn't even put into words, what he didn't even let himself think, even consider. What would he have done? You don't just kiss a prince._

  
Kacper heard the snap but it did not register for a full minute of trying to throw Ostyia off of him and not succeeding. Pain shot up his arm, nothing like using blood magic because this pain didn't dull the longer it went on.

  
“Stop it, both of you!”

  
_No, no no why now?_

  
Ostyia got off of Kacper at the prince’s command. Kacper went to push himself up, but gasped as his arm buckled underneath him. Blood and bone, how had she broken his arm?  
Serefin looked better than he had, although he was still pale as if he was on the verge of passing out. The prince squinted at Ostyia, then Kacper. There was a different air about him now that he was in view of his subjects. The soldiers who had been watching were quick to make themselves scarce, sending looks at Kacper over their shoulders that Kacper knew he’d never live down.

  
Serefin spoke to Ostyia, “Why exactly are you beating up foot soldiers? Can you really not wait until tomorrow?”

  
Ostyia grunted and crossed her arms. “I'm surprised you're sober enough to stand.”

  
Serefin flinched, but it was so subtle that he was sure Ostyia hadn't noticed. Kacper tucked the information away with all the other secrets he collected.

  
“Why were you beating up this… particular soldier?” Serefin paused. “You look familiar.”

  
Kacper refused to meet his blue eyes because he didn't want to risk not being able to look away.

  
“He was the soldier you threw up over while spectacularly drunk,” Ostyia said with only a sliver of her former ice. She was worried about Serefin.

  
Serefin grunted. “More than usual?”

  
Ostyia rolled her eye.

  
Serefin squinted at Kacper.

  
_Kacper was the person who noticed things. He didn't like being noticed, but for this golden disaster of a prince, maybe being noticed would not be so bad._

  
“Go get your arm checked out, then how would you feel about a promotion?”

  
Now, Kacper didn't reply. He couldn't. Ostyia, it seemed, was in a similar state. Serefin glanced between the two of them for a moment before the combined weight of their stares was too much and he began to squirm.

  
“Ok then, you're officially part of my… inner circle. I hope you two get along, although it seems you'll have to work at that a bit. We leave for the front tomorrow before the sun rises.”

  
And just like that, Serefin fled and Ostyia didn't even spare Kacper a glance before following her prince. Kacper stared after Serefin, his heart stuttering.

  
_Oh, oh no._


End file.
